March 18, 2011

"... All of us are against SB11, and everyone is willing to go as far as their comfort zone allows to make sure it doesn’t happen.... I really want both sides to take a look at how far this really has to go, and whether some of us who are serious about taking our country back regardless of their supposed political allegiances can agree to turn our efforts against the apparatus of big government, big media, and wall street before running around beating each other up in the streets."

As a lawyer, you know that "threatening me" is almost a meaningless statement unless you specify what he is threatening you with. A lawsuit? His displeasure with your presence? Bronx cheers while you walk down the street? A recall election on Walker?

I only skimmed his screed, but it seems he was threatening you with ostracism and social discomfort because he claims that there are a lot of people in Madison who quite dislike you now.

So what? That seems well within the limits of acceptable speech.

The baseballs on your lawn sounds like something children do.

If you really think he threatened you in the sense tht you mean to imply--with an illegal or physically damaging action--I strongly urge you to report him to the police instead of to your readers, for then he has surely committed a crime.

As a lawyer, you know that "threatening me" is almost a meaningless statement unless you specify what he is threatening you with.

The wanted posters seem to convey a specific intent.

Then there's that phrase, "All of us are against SB11, and everyone is willing to go as far as their comfort zone allows". Some people's comfort zones in regard to this matter have been quite OK with physical mayhem. How far does he want it to go?

"some of us who are serious about taking our country back regardless of their supposed political allegiances can agree to turn our efforts against the apparatus of big government, big media, and wall street before running around beating each other up in the streets."

While taking exception to some of how my initial post characterized him as potentially unambitious, Shankman mentioned his fondness for outdoor adventure and stated that he is currently mostly living off the land, while residing in a card board box in the attic of some friends. As for “making it mobile,” it’s unclear if Shankman intends to modify the cardboard box in some manner, or if he intends to pack it up, taking it along with him as he goes. On the other hand, I suppose one could simply pick up a new box when arriving in a new location and I’m not sure how said box, or mobile home/housing, might hold up to rain, or the often cold Wisconsin weather - depending upon the season, of course.

Oh my. I thought the cardboard box thing was a joke by Edutcher; it's real!

Are you kidding me??

When I read that Vincent Kartheiser, aka Peter Campbell on "Mad Men", lived in a pokey flat with no toilet, I thought that tipped his politics (which it did, he's a raging Lefty...although he's possibly my second fave character after Joanie).

But living "off the land" in the middle of a Wisconsin winter, inside a as-yet-to-be-determined mobile cardboard box, well.

"Criminal threatening (or threatening behavior) is the crime of intentionally or knowingly putting another person in fear of imminent bodily injury. "Threat of harm generally involves a perception of injury...physical or mental damage...act or instance of injury, or a material and detriment or loss to a person."[2] "A terroristic threat is a crime generally involving a threat to commit violence communicated with the intent to terrorize another."[3]"

I know that a real threat of physical harm is almost always a crime--so if this guy was doing what you say--and every law enforcement person you have reported it to (how many have you reported it to?) thinks it is a serious crime, then surely he will have been arrested?

Frankly, I've been threatened with worse driving in Manhattan traffic.

Nice evasion. If my friends and I said it to you in your living room, how would you take it? If my friends and I communicated it to you in an email, how would you take it? I'll tell you-- you would crap your pants.

When someone writes a 4-page manifesto against you, detailing your movements (which to have impact with the target, requires knowledge of your cotidian life, suggesting they've been following Meadehouse around town and asking questions of locals), saying they will F*CK YOU UP, and give you four "packages" of demands that you will have to choose, or else (...), that is a threat any day of the week.

This blame the victim crap from CERTAIN members of this blog is disgusting.

You think any one of us would tolerate a Right-winger doing this to a Lefty target? Hell, no. Immediate scorn and social ostracism.

lucid, why don't you call the Madison police or the Dane County sheriff's office if you really want to know? I suspect whatever answer I give you would just be perceived by you as "dramatizing." So I'll let you do your own leg work.

* Have you been questioned by anyone from a law enforcement agency about your Althouse Manifesto?

* What are the supposed acts of violence by Althouse and Meade that you claim give you the right to retaliate by threatening to "ruin your goddamn career, your comfort, yourpocketbook, your sense of safety and wellbeing, and your life"?

* Why do you live in a "cardboard structure" in an attic? Won't your "friends" let you come down and sleep in an actual room?

Loughner/Fuller/Shankman: I don’t even know which faction these are coming out of. Like I said, I am a relative moderate among the more militant types within the movement. I’m just not plugged into the industrial sabotage/beating up scabs community.

Not a lone nut. Not even "a few" crazies. But an entire faction.

Waiting for our Democrats to whitewash the facism of their own. Again. Like the good little Eichmanns they are.

Just read on Patterico's Pontifications that your poor widdle Shankman again changed his FB name. Now he is Ed Ward and in a relationship with Al Neon, who seems fond of ACORN.

Interesting to note also that via Jim Treacher now James O'Keefe is added to the people threatened. Apparently a Mike Clark from Memphis twittered,"someone needs to fucking find you and assassinate you. like, seriously. you get off by fucking up the truth. i should do it." How about if Law Enforcement actual arrested these uncivil morons? Like Jack Nicholson said they (progressives) can't handle the truth.

Context is everything. If Shankman had a mullet, wore a Huckabee button, and directed such a screech against Nancy Pelosi, you may be sure that lucid could find grounds for arrest and/or commital......Shankman doesn't appear to be violent, but the bare facts of his life indicate that he is very eccentric and it would be difficult to predict how he will roll tomorrow. His threats are vague but that's part of their creepiness.

As you can see, now some of your nutty minions are even accusing me of threatening violence. It is a pretty strange and disturbed group that you have gathered around you and who think they can speak for you.

Lucid knows that there hasn't been an arrest yet ... because he's been cowering in fear in a cardboard box in someone's attic, and the cops haven't found him yet.

And come on, even a twit like lucid would take "we will ruin your goddamn career, your comfort, your pocketbook, your sense of safety and wellbeing, and your life" as a threat if we said that to him.

Jim Shankman (AKA Karl Asoah and Ed Ward, and possibly AKA J, Jay Retread, Jeremy, lucid, garage mahal, and Legion) strikes me as being uncomfortably similar to Jared Loughner, or to Ted "Unabomber" Kaczynski minus sixty IQ points. Right now he has his moment of fame and glory ... but what will he do for excitement when his fifteen minutes are up?

While taking exception to some of how my initial post characterized him as potentially unambitious, Shankman [...] stated that he is currently mostly living off the land, while residing in a card board box in the attic of some friends.

lucid, stop being a tool. Local law enforcement, the Feds, they aren't going to arrest this turd on sight. What they will do is watch the little prick to see that he doesn't turn into a political problem.

If Althouse was a raging Union-supporting site, I'd be more worried about the proprietors.

Quoting the email response of the scoundrel, Jim Shankman, to Dan Riehl:

With regards to distributivism, it is very mainstream catholic theology. You could ask James O’Keefe, who says he is personally inspired by G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton is the main political philosopher of distributivism. The last couple pages of What’s Wrong With the World are instructive here. Someone equated distributivism with liberation theology, which is not the case. Distributivism is the stance that the church endorses AGAINST liberation theology, and you can see this in the theology of pope benedict during his disputes with the liberation theologians.

It could be that Dan Riehl misunderstood the original reply, but I am pretty sure Shankman said his economic theory is DISTRIBUTIONISM, not distributivism, which actually sounds more academic (although both are correct).

I could be wrong, but given the fact that the tone of the original interview made Mr Shankman sound far less polished than his manifesto and that THESE emails today sound more like the threat letter, I think he's either one of those people who is bettered by writing things down, than speaking them out loud, or that he's had help to write the manifesto and now his emails.

Lucid are you a Walker plant? If not then STFU because you are doing harm to the cause.

It is clear that saying you will fuck someone up is a threat. Not to long ago there was a homeless man that was arrested for public intox. He said to an officer "when I get out, I'm going to fuck you up".

Further to the gal pal writing the actual manifesto, suggested by Murgatroyd, I think that would explain why so many commenters thought it had a female touch. I'm guessing because of its verbosity, not that I would know anything about that.

lucid: As you can see, now some of your nutty minions are even accusing me of threatening violence. It is a pretty strange and disturbed group that you have gathered around you and who think they can speak for you.

Hey dumbass, no one accused you of threatening violence. I accused you of attempting to justify violence against Meade.

Further to the gal pal writing the actual manifesto, suggested by Murgatroyd, I think that would explain why so many commenters thought it had a female touch. I'm guessing because of its verbosity, not that I would know anything about that.

The very reliable and scientific [cough] Gender Genie thinks the author of the screed is male, for what it's worth. (I know, I know...)

Your typical, weak deflection by Meade, especially considering the incessant hyperbole that spews from him and AA ie if Shankman was a serious threat, surely he would of already been arrested and AA and her tagalong would be keeping close tabs.

I dont think Shankman will be arrested. Heck, there still hasnt been an arrest of the jerk who sent the death threats to Walker and the rest. It was published that the cops know who he is, but they havent made his name public or arrested him. Now why is that do you think???

And this illustrates the collective guilt of the Wisconsin cops, teachers, politicians, etc. They refuse to enforce civil standards, or the law, while people are threatened, buildings are vandalized and Constitutional norms are ignored. Having refused to say "Stop" at any of those junctures, they will be responsible when one of their number kills or badly injures someone. They want it, they caused it, they own it.

Shankman's repeated allusions to his more radical acquaintances needs serious checking out. I'd like to think it's purely a production of his addled imagination, but I actually doubt it.

I hope the police's clear sympathy with the protesters don't result in a half-assed investigation.

We saw the woman in Ann's other video who had not a care in the world about judges who take sides. I wonder how she would react to a politically motivated police force. OK so long as they're on her side?

Shankman's letter to Althouse was childish, certainly. This sounds like a more direct threat. If it were directed at me, I'd be on my way over to the NRA range to practice. Just in case.

My wife is of the opinion that the Left deliberately tries to incite crazy losers to get their 15 minutes of fame trying to kill or injure conservatives or, in the case of Gabby Giffords, Blue Dog Democrats. It's a plausible theory.

I read the stuff Riehl posted. Shankman is mentally ill. But, obviously, mentally ill people can be dangerous. The guy probably suffers from a delusional disorder, although I'm not a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker. (I just play one on the web.)

He's probably just the kind of whacko that someone could convince to do something violent because the right wing terrorists are attacking or preparing to attack. How serious is he about "taking our country back?" Let's hope he can't find his way out of his cardboard box.

In the New America everybody from NFL players to teachers seem to get death threats, but I have to side with Althouse and Meade on this one. Even so-called "pranks" from a self-proclaimed non-violent person should be reported to the police and taken seriously as one never knows whether this is just rhetorical jive, or the tip of a dangerous mind. That said, I noticed when I complained about the violent language used by some bloggers towards others on this site folks laughed at my concern.

I'll bet a thousand Schrute bucks that Shankman makes Obama look like Nolan Ryan when he throws. In fact, if someone does throw a baseball through a window we'll know it wasn't him. If it bounces off, he's our man.

Many people in Wisconsin, I am sure, have been very disturbed and perhaps even harmed by what you have been blogging and posting and saying.

But that doesn't make you a criminal.

Are you trying to make up your own little "law of privileges" that would justify someone "defending" themselves? You sure go a long way defending threats of violence.

A woman I worked with son once got arrested for threatening when he told a cop, who stopped him for a minor traffic violation, "What goes around, comes around."

Many people in Wisconsin, I am sure, have been very disturbed and perhaps even harmed by what you have been blogging and posting and saying.

If Meadehouse committed liable or such by what they've said, they can be held responsible in court. With Ann being a lawyer, you can be assured no liable is being committed. If you are disturbed or harmed by your public actions being made more public, tough shit. You should show better judgment and more restraint.

If this is his mothers bio from culturalcrossroads dot org, it would explain *everything:

SHANKMAN, Kimberly

Kimberly ShankmanDr. Kimberly Shankman has been the Dean of Benedictine College, in Atchison, Kansas since 2002. Before that position, from 1996 to 2001, she was Chair of the Department of Politics and Government, and Director of the Law and Society Program at Ripon College, where, since 1985, she taught various courses in American Political Thought. In 1990, Dr. Shankman obtained her Ph.D. in Constitutional Law and American Government from Northern Illinois University.

A frequent lecturer, Dr. Shankman has published extensively in the area of political philosophy. Since 2008, she has been a member of the Kansas State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

I'm such a hypocrite about searching people online. I tell myself it's kinda creepy, that I won't do it myself (although I looked up Kim Shankman's photo and posted it), but I love it when others find the goods.

If Ann wants Shankman arrested, rather than as fodder for self-promotion and self-dramtization, it appears that the police are going to have to inform the Professor about the constitution and free speech.

What about Mr. Shankman gives him the authority to speak on behalf of all Madisonians? Has he been elected to any post or office? Or is he taking his cue from labor unions who presume to talk smack on behalf of all working people, even the American people ("This is what Democracy sounds like."), many of whom are forced to join them and pay them dues.

His "office" appears to be a cardboard box in someone else's attic.

Had it not been for Jared Loughner, John Hinckley and Mark David Chapman we could laugh him off, but with the new tone of civility, he really needs to be checked out.